Substrate treatment apparatus and substrate treatment method

ABSTRACT

In one embodiment, a substrate treatment apparatus includes a housing configured to house a substrate. The apparatus further includes a chemical supplying module configured to supply one or more chemicals in a gas state to the substrate in the housing, the one or more chemicals including a first chemical that contains a silylation agent. The apparatus further includes a cooling module configured to cool the substrate in the housing while any of the one or more chemicals is supplied to the substrate in the housing.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.14/836,145, filed Aug. 26, 2015 which is based upon and claims thebenefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No.2015-75015, filed on Apr. 1, 2015, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate to a substrate treatment apparatusand a substrate treatment method.

BACKGROUND

When an etching step is performed to form a fine pattern having a highaspect ratio on a semiconductor wafer, a cleaning step and a drying stepare then performed to remove an impurity and a residue left on a surfaceof the semiconductor wafer. It is possible to suppress, by silylating asurface of the pattern in this cleaning step, collapse of the pattern inthe drying step. In this case, the collapse margin can be widened byrinsing the semiconductor wafer with isopropyl alcohol (IPA) after thesilylation and then spin-drying the semiconductor wafer. In many cases,the semiconductor wafer is also rinsed with the IPA before thesilylation.

On the other hand, it is studied to silylate the semiconductor wafer ina batch treatment apparatus instead of a single-wafer treatmentapparatus. However, if the silylation agent and the IPA are used in aliquid state in the batch treatment apparatus, amounts of using thesechemicals are extremely large. Therefore, it is considered to reduce theamounts of using these chemicals by using the silylation agent and theIPA in a gas state (vapor state). In this case, the silylation agent andthe IPA are liquefied on the surface of the semiconductor wafer to beattached to the semiconductor wafer, so that the semiconductor wafer canbe wet. However, the silylation agent and the IPA attached to thesemiconductor wafer are vaporized during the silylation, and thereforethe semiconductor wafer is dried during the silylation. Accordingly, thepattern on the semiconductor wafer may collapse.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are sectional views illustrating a structure of asubstrate treatment apparatus of a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating an example of a semiconductorwafer of the first embodiment;

FIGS. 3A to 4C are graphs illustrating examples of operation of thesubstrate treatment apparatus of the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a substrate treatment method of thefirst embodiment;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are sectional views illustrating a structure of asubstrate treatment apparatus of a second embodiment;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are sectional views illustrating a structure of asubstrate treatment apparatus of a third embodiment;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are sectional views illustrating a structure of asubstrate treatment apparatus of a fourth embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a table illustrating examples of a coolant liquid of thefourth embodiment;

FIGS. 10A to 12C are graphs illustrating examples of operation of thesubstrate treatment apparatus of the fourth embodiment; and

FIGS. 13A and 13B are sectional views illustrating a structure of asubstrate treatment apparatus of a fifth embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments will now be explained with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

In one embodiment, a substrate treatment apparatus includes a housingconfigured to house a substrate. The apparatus further includes achemical supplying module configured to supply one or more chemicals ina gas state to the substrate in the housing, the one or more chemicalsincluding a first chemical that contains a silylation agent. Theapparatus further includes a cooling module configured to cool thesubstrate in the housing while any of the one or more chemicals issupplied to the substrate in the housing.

First Embodiment

FIGS. 1A and 1B are sectional views illustrating a structure of asubstrate treatment apparatus of a first embodiment. FIG. 1A illustratesa vertical cross section of the substrate treatment apparatus. FIG. 1Billustrates a horizontal cross section of the substrate treatmentapparatus.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the substrate treatment apparatus ofthe present embodiment includes a chamber 1, a wafer holder 2, an IPAsupplying module 3 a, IPA pipes 3 b, a silylation agent supplying module4 a, silylation agent pipes 4 b, a coolant gas supplying module 5 a,coolant gas pipes 5 b, coolant gas supplying ports 5 c and a controller6. The chamber 1 is an example of a housing. The IPA supplying module 3a, the IPA pipes 3 b, the silylation agent supplying module 4 a and thesilylation agent pipes 4 b are an example of a chemical supplyingmodule. The coolant gas supplying module 5 a, the coolant gas pipes 5 band the coolant gas supplying ports 5 c are an example of a coolingmodule.

The substrate treatment apparatus of the present embodiment is a batchtreatment apparatus simultaneously treating plural semiconductor wafers11. The semiconductor wafers 11 are an example of a substrate. Areference sign S₁ in FIG. 1B illustrates a front surface of eachsemiconductor wafer 11. A reference sign S₂ in FIG. 1B illustrates aback surface of each semiconductor wafer 11.

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate X and Y directions parallel with aninstallation surface of the substrate treatment apparatus andperpendicular to each other, and a Z direction perpendicular to theinstallation surface of the substrate treatment apparatus. In thespecification, a +Z direction is handled as an upward direction and a −Zdirection is handled as a downward direction. For example, a positionalrelation between the semiconductor wafers 11 and the coolant gas pipes 5b is expressed that the coolant gas pipes 5 b are located above andbelow the semiconductor wafers 11. The −Z direction of the presentembodiment may be or may not be the same as the gravity direction.

Hereinafter, the structure of the substrate treatment apparatus of thepresent embodiment will be described in detail.

The chamber 1 is used to house the plural semiconductor wafers 11. Thewafer holder 2 can hold these semiconductor wafers 11. The wafer holder2 holds the semiconductor wafers 11 such that the front surfaces S₁ ofthe semiconductor wafers 11 face each other and the back surfaces S₂ ofthe semiconductor wafers 11 face each other. In addition, the waferholder 2 holds the semiconductor wafers 11 such that the front surfacesS₁ and the back surfaces S₂ of the semiconductor wafers 11 are inparallel to the Z direction. The chamber 1 of the present embodimentincludes a treatment tank 1 a for rinsing the semiconductor wafers 11with pure water below the wafer holder 2.

The IPA supplying module 3 a supplies IPA in a gas state (vapor state)to the semiconductor wafers 11 in the chamber 1. The IPA supplyingmodule 3 a supplies the IPA into the chamber 1 through the IPA pipes 3b. The IPA is supplied to the front surfaces S₁ of the semiconductorwafers 11 to be used for rinsing the front surfaces S₁ of thesemiconductor wafers 11. The IPA has a boiling point of 82° C. The IPAis an example of one or more chemicals and an example of a secondchemical that contains alcohol.

The silylation agent supplying module 4 a supplies a silylation agent ina gas state (vapor state) to the semiconductor wafers 11 in the chamber1. The silylation agent supplying module 4 a supplies the silylationagent into the chamber 1 through the silylation agent pipes 4 b. Thesilylation agent is supplied to the front surfaces S₁ of thesemiconductor wafers 11 to be used for silylating the front surfacesS_(t) of the semiconductor wafers 11. Examples of the silylation agentinclude trimethylsilyl dimethylamine (TMSDMA) and hexamethyldisilazane(HMDS). The TMSDMA and the HMDS have boiling points of 86° C. and 126°C., respectively. Both of the boiling points are higher than that of theIPA. The TMSDMA and the HMDS are examples of the one or more chemicalsand examples of a first chemical that contains a silylation agent.

The coolant gas supplying module 5 a supplies a coolant gas to thesemiconductor wafers 11 in the chamber 1. The coolant gas supplyingmodule 5 a jets the coolant gas to the back surfaces S₂ of thesemiconductor wafers 11 from the coolant gas supplying ports 5 c of thecoolant gas pipes 5 b. The semiconductor wafers 11 are thereby cooled.The coolant gas of the present embodiment is supplied to the backsurfaces S₂ of the semiconductor wafers 11 so as not to inhibit thefront surfaces S₁ of the semiconductor wafers 11 from being silylated orrinsed. An example of the coolant gas is an inert gas such as a nitrogen(N₂) gas, a helium (He) gas or an argon (Ar) gas.

The coolant gas supplying module 5 a of the present embodiment suppliesthe coolant gas to the semiconductor wafers 11 to cool the semiconductorwafers 11 while the silylation agent or the IPA is supplied to thesemiconductor wafers 11. The semiconductor wafers 11 during silylationor rinsing can be thereby cooled. Such an operation of the coolant gassupplying module 5 a is controlled by the controller 6.

In addition, the coolant gas supplying module 5 a of the presentembodiment cools the semiconductor wafers 11 such that the temperatureof the semiconductor wafers 11 is lower than the boiling points of thesilylation agent and the IPA. In the present embodiment, the boilingpoint of the IPA is lower than that of the silylation agent. Therefore,the semiconductor wafers 11 are cooled to a temperature lower than 82°C. which is the boiling point of the IPA. Such an operation of thecoolant gas supplying module 5 a is controlled by the controller 6.

The controller 6 controls various operations of the substrate treatmentapparatus. The controller 6 controls, for example, supplying timings andsupplying amounts of the IPA, the silylation agent and the coolant gas.It is possible to control the supplying timing and the supplying amountof the IPA, for example, by controlling an operation of the IPAsupplying module 3 a and opening and closing of valves disposed on theIPA pipes 3 b. The same applies to the silylation agent and the coolantgas.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating an example of a semiconductorwafer 11 of the first embodiment.

In FIG. 2, the semiconductor wafer 11 is disposed such that the frontsurface S₁ and the back surface S₂ face the +Z direction and the −Zdirection, respectively. The semiconductor wafer 11 in FIG. 2 includes asemiconductor substrate 11 a and plural patterns 11 b formed on thesemiconductor substrate 11 a. These patterns 11 b may be formed directlyon the semiconductor substrate 11 a or formed on the semiconductorsubstrate 11 a through another layer. These patterns 11 b are formed ona side of the front surface S₁ of the semiconductor wafer 11. Thesepatterns 11 b are formed of a film that contains silicon, such as asilicon film, a silicon oxide film or a silicon nitride film.

In FIG. 2, a silylation film 12 is formed on the front surface S₁ of thesemiconductor wafer 11, and the patterns 11 b are covered with thesilylation film 12. The silylation film 12 is formed with the silylationagent supplied from the silylation agent supplying module 4 a.

As described above, the substrate treatment apparatus of the presentembodiment supplies the silylation agent and the IPA in a gas state tothe semiconductor wafers 11. Therefore, according to the presentembodiment, it is possible to reduce the amounts of using the silylationagent and the IPA.

In this case, the silylation agent and the IPA are liquefied on thefront surfaces S₁ of the semiconductor wafers 11 to be attached to thesemiconductor wafers 11, so that the semiconductor wafers 11 can be wet.However, the silylation agent and the IPA attached to the semiconductorwafers 11 are vaporized, and therefore the semiconductor wafers 11 aredried. Accordingly, the patterns 11 b on the semiconductor wafers 11 maycollapse. For example, when the silylation agent having a boiling pointhigher than the IPA is supplied after the IPA is supplied, the IPAattached to the semiconductor wafers 11 is easily vaporized during thesilylation.

Therefore, the substrate treatment apparatus of the present embodimentsupplies the coolant gas to the semiconductor wafers 11 to cool thesemiconductor wafers 11 while the silylation agent or the IPA issupplied to the semiconductor wafers 11. It is thereby possible tosuppress vaporization of the silylation agent or the IPA from the frontsurfaces S₁ of the semiconductor wafers 11. Therefore, according to thepresent embodiment, it is possible to suppress drying of thesemiconductor wafers 11 and collapse of the patterns 11 b on thesemiconductor wafers 11.

For example, when the silylation agent having a boiling point higherthan the IPA is supplied after the IPA is supplied, it is desired tocool the semiconductor wafers 11 during the supply of the silylationagent. It is thereby possible to suppress vaporization of the IPAattached to the semiconductor wafers 11 during the silylation.

In addition, the substrate treatment apparatus of the present embodimentcools the semiconductor wafers 11 such that the temperature of thesemiconductor wafers 11 is lower than the boiling points of thesilylation agent and the IPA. Therefore, according to the presentembodiment, it is possible to restrain the temperatures of the liquefiedsilylation agent and the IPA from becoming higher than the boilingpoints thereof, and it is possible to suppress vaporization of thesilylation agent and the IPA effectively.

At this time, the substrate treatment apparatus of the presentembodiment preferably cools the semiconductor wafers 11 to a temperatureat which a large amount of water droplets is not generated due tocondensation on the front surfaces S₁ of the semiconductor wafers 11.For example, it is possible to suppress such condensation by setting thetemperature of the semiconductor wafers 11 at 15° C. or higher.

FIGS. 3A to 4C are graphs illustrating examples of operation of thesubstrate treatment apparatus of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3A illustrates the supplying timing of the IPA, the silylationagent, and the coolant gas. In FIG. 3A, the IPA is supplied to thesemiconductor wafers 11 before the silylation agent is supplied, and theIPA is supplied again to the semiconductor wafers 11 after thesilylation agent is supplied. The same applies to FIGS. 3B to 4Cdescribed later. The silylation agent is, for example, TMSDMA or HMDS.The silylation agent is an example of a chemical having a first boilingpoint. The IPA is an example of a chemical having a second boiling pointlower than the first boiling point.

In an example of FIG. 3A, supply of the coolant gas is started beforestart of supply of the silylation agent, and is stopped at the same timeas stop of the supply of the silylation agent. Therefore, the supply ofthe coolant gas is started during the supply of the IPA. This examplehas an advantage that the semiconductor wafers 11 can be sufficientlycooled because the semiconductor wafers 11 can be cooled before thesilylation.

In an example of FIG. 3B, the supply of the coolant gas is started atthe same time as the start of the supply of the silylation agent, and isstopped at the same time as the stop of the supply of the silylationagent. This example has an advantage that an amount of using the coolantgas can be reduced because a period for cooling the semiconductor wafers11 can be limited only to the period in which the silylation isperformed.

In an example of FIG. 3C, the supply of the coolant gas is startedbefore the start of the supply of the silylation agent, and is stoppedafter the stop of the supply of the silylation agent. Therefore, thesupply of the coolant gas is started during the supply of the IPA, andis stopped during the supply of the IPA or after stop of the supply ofthe IPA. This example has an advantage that the semiconductor wafer 11can be surely cooled until the silylation is completed.

In an example of FIG. 3D, the supply of the coolant gas is started atthe same time as the start of the supply of the silylation agent, and isstopped after the stop of the supply of the silylation agent. Therefore,the supply of the coolant gas is stopped during the supply of the IPA orafter the stop of the supply of the IPA. This example has an advantagethat the semiconductor wafers 11 can be surely cooled until thesilylation is completed.

In FIGS. 3A to 3D, the coolant gas is supplied to the semiconductorwafers 11 in the whole period in which the silylation agent is suppliedto the semiconductor wafers 11. On the other hand, in FIGS. 4A to 4C,the coolant gas is supplied to the semiconductor wafers 11 in a part ofa period in which the silylation agent is supplied to the semiconductorwafers 11.

In an example of FIG. 4A, the supply of the coolant gas is startedduring the supply of the silylation agent, and is stopped at the sametime as the stop of the supply of the silylation agent. In an example ofFIG. 4B, the supply of the coolant gas is started during the supply ofthe silylation agent, and is stopped after the stop of the supply of thesilylation agent. In an example of FIG. 4C, the supply of the coolantgas is started during the supply of the silylation agent, and is stoppedduring the supply of the silylation agent. These examples have anadvantage that the amount of using the coolant gas can be reduced morethan in the examples of FIGS. 3A to 3D.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a substrate treatment method of thefirst embodiment.

First, the plural semiconductor wafers 11 to be treated is cleaned witha liquid chemical outside the substrate treatment apparatus of thepresent embodiment (step S1). Next, these semiconductor wafers 11 arerinsed with pure water outside the substrate treatment apparatus of thepresent embodiment (step S2).

Next, these semiconductor wafers 11 are carried into the substratetreatment apparatus to perform processing of steps S3 to S6. First, theIPA supplying module 3 a rinses the semiconductor wafers 11 with the IPAin a gas state (step S3). Next, the silylation agent supplying module 4a silylates the semiconductor wafers 11 with the silylation agent in agas state (step S4). Next, the IPA supplying module 3 a rinses thesemiconductor wafers 11 again with the IPA in a gas state (step S5). Thecoolant gas supplying module 5 a supplies the coolant gas to thesemiconductor wafers 11 to cool the semiconductor wafers 11 whileprocessing of at least one of the steps S3 to S5 is performed. Next, thesemiconductor wafers 11 are dried by using inert gas such as N₂ gas(step S6). In this way, the silylation of the semiconductor wafers 11 iscompleted.

In the flow of FIG. 5, after the semiconductor wafers 11 are carriedinto the substrate treatment apparatus, the semiconductor wafers 11 maybe rinsed with pure water in the treatment tank 1 a in the substratetreatment apparatus before step S3. In this case, the processing of stepS2 may be or may not be omitted. In the latter case, the semiconductorwafers 11 are rinsed with pure water both outside and inside thesubstrate treatment apparatus.

As described above, the coolant gas in the present embodiment issupplied to the semiconductor wafers 11 to cool the semiconductor wafers11 while the silylation agent or the IPA in a gas state is supplied tothe semiconductor wafers 11. Therefore, according to the presentembodiment, it is possible to suppress collapse of the patterns 11 b onthe semiconductor wafers 11 when the patterns 11 b on the semiconductorwafers 11 are silylated using a chemical in a gas state.

It is effective to apply the present embodiment to a batch treatmentapparatus that processes the plural semiconductor wafers 11simultaneously. However, the present embodiment may be applied to asingle-wafer treatment apparatus that processes the plural semiconductorwafers 11 individually.

Second Embodiment

FIGS. 6A and 6B are sectional views illustrating a structure of asubstrate treatment apparatus of a second embodiment.

Instead of the coolant gas supplying module 5 a and the like, thesubstrate treatment apparatus of the present embodiment includes acoolant water supplying module 7 a, coolant water storing modules 7 b,coolant water inlets 7 c and coolant water outlets 7 d. The coolantwater supplying module 7 a, the coolant water storing modules 7 b, thecoolant water inlets 7 c and the coolant water outlets 7 d are anexample of the cooling module.

The coolant water supplying module 7 a supplies coolant water to thecoolant water storing modules 7 b in the chamber 1. The semiconductorwafers 11 are held such that the back surfaces S₂ face the coolant waterstoring modules 7 b. The back surfaces S₂ of the semiconductor wafers 11may be or may not be in contact with the coolant water storing modules 7b. The coolant water flows into the coolant water storing modules 7 bthrough the coolant water inlets 7 c, and flows out of the coolant waterstoring modules 7 b through the coolant water outlets 7 d. Thesemiconductor wafers 11 of the present embodiment are cooled by thecoolant water supplied into the coolant water storing modules 7 b.

Supplying timing and a supplying amount of the coolant water arecontrolled by the controller 6 as similar to the IPA and the silylationagent. For example, the examples of operation in FIGS. 3A to 4C can beapplied to the present embodiment by replacing the coolant gas with thecoolant water.

As described above, the coolant water in the present embodiment issupplied to the semiconductor wafers 11 to cool the semiconductor wafers11 while the silylation agent or the IPA in a gas state is supplied tothe semiconductor wafers 11. Therefore, according to the presentembodiment, it is possible to suppress collapse of patterns 11 b on thesemiconductor wafers 11 when the patterns 11 b on the semiconductorwafers 11 are silylated using a chemical in a gas state.

Third Embodiment

FIGS. 7A and 7B are sectional views illustrating a structure of asubstrate treatment apparatus of a third embodiment.

Instead of the coolant gas supplying module 5 a and the like, thesubstrate treatment apparatus of the present embodiment includes a powersupply 8 a and Peltier devices 8 b. The power supply 8 a and the Peltierdevices 8 b are an example of the cooling module.

The power supply 8 a can make the Peltier devices 8 b exhibit a coolingfunction thereof by supplying power to the Peltier devices 8 b. Thesemiconductor wafers 11 are held such that back surfaces S₂ face thePeltier devices 8 b. The back surfaces S₂ of the semiconductor wafers 11may be or may not be in contact with the Peltier devices 8 b. Thesemiconductor wafers 11 of the present embodiment are cooled by thecooling function of the Peltier devices 8 b.

Operation timing of the Peltier devices 8 b is controlled by acontroller 6 as similar to the IPA and a silylation agent. For example,the examples of operation in FIGS. 3A to 4C can be applied to thepresent embodiment by replacing jet/stop of the coolant gas with on/offof the Peltier devices 8 b.

As described above, the semiconductor wafers 11 in the presentembodiment are cooled by the Peltier devices 8 b while the silylationagent or the IPA in a gas state is supplied to the semiconductor wafers11. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible tosuppress collapse of patterns 11 b on the semiconductor wafers 11 whenthe patterns 11 b on the semiconductor wafers 11 are silylated using achemical in a gas state.

Fourth Embodiment

FIGS. 8A and 8B are sectional views illustrating a structure of asubstrate treatment apparatus of a fourth embodiment.

Instead of the coolant gas supplying module 5 a and the like, thesubstrate treatment apparatus of the present embodiment includes acoolant liquid supplying module 9 a, coolant liquid nozzles 9 b, coolantliquid supplying ports 9 c and a coolant liquid pipe 9 d. The coolantliquid supplying module 9 a, the coolant liquid nozzles 9 b, the coolantliquid supplying ports 9 c and the coolant liquid pipe 9 d are anexample of the cooling module.

The coolant liquid supplying module 9 a supplies a coolant liquid to thesemiconductor wafers 11 in the chamber 1. The coolant liquid supplyingmodule 9 a jets the coolant liquid to back surfaces S₂ of semiconductorwafers 11 from the coolant liquid supplying ports 9 c of the coolantliquid nozzles 9 b. The semiconductor wafers 11 are thereby cooled. Thecoolant liquid nozzles 9 b branch from the coolant liquid pipe 9 dconnected to the coolant liquid supplying module 9 a. The coolant liquidsupplying module 9 a supplies the coolant liquid to the coolant liquidnozzles 9 b through the coolant liquid pipe 9 d. In the presentembodiment, the coolant liquid nozzles 9 b are disposed between a pairof semiconductor wafers 11. Supplying timing and a supplying amount ofthe coolant liquid are controlled by the controller 6 as similar to theIPA and the silylation agent.

The coolant liquid of the present embodiment is preferably a volatileliquid. In this case, the coolant liquid is vaporized on the backsurfaces S₂ of the semiconductor wafers 11. The semiconductor wafers 11are effectively cooled by vaporization heat of the coolant liquid.

FIG. 9 is a table illustrating examples of the coolant liquid of thefourth embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the examples of the coolantliquid of the present embodiment are organic liquids such as alcohol,ketone, ether and alkane. The table in FIG. 9 illustrates boiling pointsof these organic liquids.

FIGS. 10A to 12C are graphs illustrating examples of operation of thesubstrate treatment apparatus of the fourth embodiment.

In FIGS. 10A to 12C, the IPA is supplied to the semiconductor wafers 11before the silylation agent is supplied, and the IPA is supplied againto the semiconductor wafers 11 after the silylation agent is supplied,as similar to those of FIGS. 3A to 4C described above. The silylationagent is, for example, TMSDMA or HMDS.

In an example of FIG. 10A, the coolant liquid is supplied (jetted) onlyonce before the silylation agent is supplied. This example has anadvantage that the semiconductor wafers 11 can be cooled before thesilylation.

In an example of FIG. 10B, the coolant liquid is supplied only oncewhile the silylation agent is supplied. This supply of the coolantliquid is started at the same time as start of the supply of thesilylation agent. This example has an advantage that an amount of usingthe coolant liquid can be reduced because a period for cooling thesemiconductor wafers 11 can be limited only to the period in which thesilylation is performed.

In an example of FIG. 10C, the coolant liquid is supplied only oncewhile the silylation agent is supplied. This supply of the coolantliquid is started after the start of the supply of the silylation agent.This example has an advantage that an amount of using the coolant liquidcan be reduced because a period for cooling the semiconductor wafers 11can be limited only to the period in which the silylation is performed.

In an example of FIG. 11A, the coolant liquid is intermittently suppliedplural times before and while the silylation agent is supplied. In anexample of FIG. 11B, the coolant liquid is intermittently suppliedplural times while the silylation agent is supplied. In an example ofFIG. 11C, the coolant liquid is intermittently supplied plural timeswhile and after the silylation agent is supplied. In an example of FIG.11D, the coolant liquid is intermittently supplied plural times before,while, and after the silylation agent is supplied. According to theseexamples, a cooling function similar to that of the examples in FIGS. 3Ato 3D can be realized.

Also in examples of FIGS. 12A to 12C, the coolant liquid isintermittently supplied plural times. According to these examples, acooling function similar to that of the examples in FIGS. 4A to 4C canbe realized.

In the examples of FIGS. 10A to 10C, the coolant liquid is supplied fora short period. In the examples of FIGS. 11A to 12C, the coolant liquidis intermittently supplied. This is because vaporization of the coolantliquid can be accelerated while the supply of the coolant liquid isstopped and the semiconductor wafers 11 can be thereby effectivelycooled.

As described above, the coolant liquid in the present embodiment issupplied to the semiconductor wafers 11 to cool the semiconductor wafers11 while the silylation agent or the IPA in a gas state is supplied tothe semiconductor wafers 11. Therefore, according to the presentembodiment, it is possible to suppress collapse of patterns 11 b on thesemiconductor wafers 11 when the patterns 11 b on the semiconductorwafers 11 are silylated using a chemical in a gas state.

Fifth Embodiment

FIGS. 13A and 13B are sectional views illustrating a structure of asubstrate treatment apparatus of a fifth embodiment.

Instead of the coolant gas supplying module 5 a and the like, thesubstrate treatment apparatus of the present embodiment includes acoolant liquid supplying module 10 a, coolant liquid branch pipes 10 b,coolant liquid nozzles 10 c, coolant liquid supplying ports 10 d and acoolant liquid pipe 10 e. The coolant liquid supplying module 10 a, thecoolant liquid branch pipes 10 b, the coolant liquid nozzles 10 c, thecoolant liquid supplying ports 10 d and the coolant liquid pipe 10 e arean example of the cooling module.

The coolant liquid supplying module 10 a supplies a coolant liquid tosemiconductor wafers 11 in the chamber 1. The coolant liquid supplyingmodule 10 a jets the coolant liquid to back surfaces S₂ of thesemiconductor wafers 11 from the coolant liquid supplying ports 10 d ofthe coolant liquid nozzles 10 c connected to the coolant liquid branchpipes 10 b. The semiconductor wafers 11 are thereby cooled. The coolantliquid branch pipes 10 b branches from the coolant liquid pipe 10 econnected to the coolant liquid supplying module 10 a. The coolantliquid supplying module 10 a supplies the coolant liquid to the coolantliquid nozzles 10 c through the coolant liquid pipe 10 e. In the presentembodiment, a coolant liquid nozzle 10 c is disposed between a pair ofsemiconductor wafers 11. Supplying timing and a supplying amount of thecoolant liquid are controlled by the controller 6 as similar to the IPAand the silylation agent. For example, the examples of operation inFIGS. 10A to 12C can be applied to the present embodiment.

The coolant liquid of the present embodiment is preferably a volatileliquid as similar to the fourth embodiment. In this case, the coolantliquid is vaporized on the back surfaces S₂ of semiconductor wafers 11.The semiconductor wafers 11 are effectively cooled by vaporization heatof the coolant liquid.

As described above, the coolant liquid in the present embodiment issupplied to the semiconductor wafers 11 to cool the semiconductor wafers11 while the silylation agent or the IPA in a gas state is supplied tothe semiconductor wafers 11. Therefore, according to the presentembodiment, it is possible to suppress collapse of patterns 11 b on thesemiconductor wafers 11 when the patterns 11 b on the semiconductorwafers 11 are silylated using a chemical in a gas state.

Here, the fourth and fifth embodiments are compared with each other. Inthe fourth embodiment, each semiconductor wafer 11 can be surely cooledby jetting the coolant liquid to almost the whole of the back surface S₂of each semiconductor wafer 11. On the other hand, the coolant liquid inthe fifth embodiment is jetted to a part (upper part) of the backsurface S₂ of each semiconductor wafer 11. Therefore, the coolant liquidin the fifth embodiment falls down on the back surface S₂, and thecoolant liquid is thereby supplied to the whole of the back surface S₂.Therefore, the fifth embodiment has advantages that an amount of usingthe coolant liquid can be reduced and that vaporization of the coolantliquid can be accelerated.

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments havebeen presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit thescope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel apparatuses and methodsdescribed herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms;furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form ofthe apparatuses and methods described herein may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims andtheir equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications aswould fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.

1. A substrate treatment apparatus comprising: a housing configured tohouse a substrate; a chemical supplying module configured to supply oneor more chemicals in a gas state to the substrate in the housing, theone or more chemicals including a first chemical that contains asilylation agent; and a cooling module configured to cool the substratein the housing while any of the one or more chemicals is supplied to thesubstrate in the housing.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the oneor more chemicals further include a second chemical that containsalcohol.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooling module coolsthe substrate such that a temperature of the substrate is lower than aboiling point of the one or more chemicals.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the one or more chemicals include a chemical having a firstboiling point and a chemical having a second boiling point lower thanthe first boiling point, and the chemical supplying module supplies thechemical having the first boiling point to the substrate after supplyingthe chemical having the second boiling point to the substrate.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 4, wherein the chemical supplying module supplies thechemical having the second boiling point to the substrate again aftersupplying the chemical having the first boiling point to the substrate.6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooling module cools thesubstrate by supplying a gas or a liquid to cool the substrate.
 7. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooling module cools the substratewith a Peltier device disposed near the substrate.
 8. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the cooling module cools the substrate in the wholeperiod in which the first chemical is supplied to the substrate.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooling module cools the substrate inone or more parts of a period in which the first chemical is supplied tothe substrate.